An estimated half a million Russians have fled their homeland after President Vladimir Putin announced in October conscriptions into the Russian military to fight his war in Ukraine, and as many 22,000 of them have made their way to America’s southern border to seek asylum, CNN reports.
This past January, more than 4,500 Russian citizens requested asylum at the US border with Mexico, significantly less than the nearly 8,000 applicants from December. Many are people fleeing potential military conscription, while others are people who were part of the anti-war movement scared for their safety as Putin cracks down on dissent.